Black Bean Soup in the Slow Cooker

I don't know that I'll ever become a vegetarian, though I have been very close in the past.  But then I'd go for a run and smell someone's BBQ and lose my resolve.  However, I do like to eat a few meatless meals each week.  It's easier on my wallet and easier on the environment.  This soup is hearty, full of protein and super filling.  And I promise you won't miss the meat!  Feel free to play around with the spices and give it your own twist.  Sometimes I like to throw some corn in at the end, and top with cilantro and sliced avocado.

It makes a large amount (about 10 servings) so it's great for a crowd.  Throw it together in the crock pot the next time you head out for a day of skiing or sledding and you'll have a nice hot dinner waiting for you.  It's especially good with a side of cornbread.  Just be sure to give yourself ample time to soak the beans.  You can soak them overnight or give yourself a couple hours before assembly and follow the directions in step one.

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1 pound dry black beans

1 1/2 quarts water

1carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 large red onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed

2 green bell peppers, chopped

2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/4 cup dry lentils

1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoond ried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup uncooked white rice

In a large pot over medium-high heat, place the beans in three times their volume of water. Bring to a boil, and let boil 10 minutes. Cover, remove from heat and let stand 1 hour. Drain, and rinse.

In a slow cooker, combine soaked beans and 1 1/2 quarts fresh water. Cover, and cook for 3 hours on High.

Stir in carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeno pepper, lentils, and tomatoes. Season with chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, red wine vinegar, and salt. Cook on Low for 2 to 3 hours. Stir the rice into the slow cooker in the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Puree about half of the soup with a blender or food processor, then pour back into the pot before serving.  If you have a hand blender, just stick it in the pot and blend until you get a consistency you like.  You want to have some chunks left!


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beezies-black-bean-soup/detail.aspx

Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Soup



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This is a great fall soup.  I like it for a lunch or a light dinner with some crusty bread.  It's easy to make vegetarian by using vegetable broth rather than chicken.  Personally, I like the richness the chicken broth gives it.  You could use sour cream instead of yogurt if you like.  You could even prep the recipe, let the veggies cook down in the slow cooker and puree when you are ready to eat.  You can find the original recipe here.

 

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded

2 large onions, peeled and quartered

1 medium head garlic

6 c. vegetable or chicken broth

1bay leaf

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon mild curry powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Place squash halves and onion onto the prepared baking sheet. Wrap garlic in foil and set with other vegetables.

Roast in the center of the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Squeeze garlic cloves out of their skin like paste into a food processor. Scrape the flesh from the squash and place into the food processor along with the roasted onion. Puree until smooth. Add vegetable broth if necessary. Transfer the pureed mixture to a stockpot and stir in vegetable broth. Season with the bay leaf, brown sugar, curry powder, oregano, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.

Remove bay leaf and serve hot. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes

This is such a great slow cooker recipe, traditional with a unique twist to keep it interesting.  It's also a great dish to serve to company.  Since it's thrown in the crock pot in the morning, all you'll need to do while the guests are there is throw together a salad to serve on the side.  Better yet, put those guests to work and get everyone chopping in the kitchen! :)

This recipe was adapted from one in  Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker: Family Favorites which is one of my all-time favorite cook books because everything is delicious and nothing comes out of a can.  Don't skimp on the candied ginger in this dish, it really takes this dish to the next level.  You might also want a loaf of nice crusty bread to soak up all the yummy juices!

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2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

3 med. carrots, cut into chunks

3 small sweet onions, quartered

1 3-4 lb. pork loin roast, trimmed of fat and tied with twine

1 tsp. dried oregano or marjoram

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. apple cider or apple juice

1/4 c. chicken broth

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. chopped crystallized ginger

Coat the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray and add the vegetables.   Rub the roast with oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Nestle it down into the veggies.  Combine all remaining ingredients except ginger and pour over the roast.  Sprinkle the ginger on top.  Cover and cook on low 8-9 hours or high 4-5 hours. 

Transfer the roast to a platter and cover with aluminum foil.  Let stand for 10 mins to let the juices settle.  Remove the twine and carve the roast into thick slices.  Serve with vegetables and juices from the crock.  

Garden Lentil & Ham Soup

I mentioned in a previous post that Easter weekend was going to be our first weekend in a long time that we hadn't had visitors.  While it was nice to be with just my husband and kids, it also means I probably didn't need to buy a huge ham.  But what is Easter dinner without ham??  Needless to say we've been eating ham leftovers all week and everyone was hammed out.  So, I threw most of the leftovers in the freezer saving out a bit to make this yummy soup.  I threw in what veggies I had hanging out in the cripser and it turned out great!  This would be perfect with a nice crusty loaf of bread to soak up the broth.  It would be really easy to make this vegetarian; just omit the ham and use vegetable broth instead of chicken.

And a reminder, if you haven't been to my facebook page check it out here!  I'll be doing a giveaway when I reach 100 likes, so tell your friends :)

1 c. dried lentils
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 container grape tomatoes, whole
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. diced cooked ham
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
5 c. chicken broth
1 c. water
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2-3 c. fresh baby spinach
a splash of lemon juice or hot sauce (optional for serving)

Put the chopped ham into a large saucepan over medium high heat and begin to brown. This should render enough fat to brown the veggies in.  You can add a little olive oil if you need to if things get sticky.  Add the onions, carrots, and bell peppers.  Cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften, then add garlic.  Cook another two minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, except spinach.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer at least 40 min. until lentils are cooked.  This can stay on the stovetop simmering for quite some time, or even in the slow cooker (11 hours on low).  Add the spinach a few minutes before you are ready to eat.  Top with any lemon juice or hot sauce to taste.

Double-Corn Spoon Bread

This delicious side dish comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook  by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann.  I love this book because it uses real food, rather than processed.  Just about everything I've made from this book has been delicious.  This Southern recipe is a wonderful side dish with bbq, roasts, or chicken.

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3 c. milk

1/2 c. yellow cornmeal

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter, cut into pieces

2 c. corn (fresh cut from the cob, or thawed from frozen)

1 tsp. hot pepper sauce

1 Tbsp. baking powder

6 eggs

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Whisk together the milk, cornmeal and salt in a large saucepan over high heat until it comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook until thick.  This only takes a minute or so.  Stir in the butter until melted, then add corn and pepper sauce.  Sprinkle with baking powder and whisk in the eggs until completely smooth.  Fold in the cheese.

Coat the slow cooker w/ nonstick cooking spray.  Pour in the batter.  Cover and cook on high until it looks set, but not quite firm.  3-3 1/2 hours.  Serve immediately.





Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

I'm always on the lookout for slow cooker recipes that don't call for cans of cream of mush this-or-that.  Those soups are so high calorie and high sodium that I really don't like to use them that often.  I prefer to use real food, don't you?  Anyway, I put out a call awhile back on facebook to my friends and family for good, whole foods slow cooker recipes and my sister sent in this one from allrecipes.com.  I made a few changes to healthy it up a bit more like using olive oil instead of vegetable, red onions instead of white (hello antioxidants!), and bringing some heat with cayenne pepper.  It's delish!

2 lbs. beef sirloin cut into 2 inch strips
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cube beef bullion
1/4 c. hot water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 large red onion, sliced
2 large bell peppers cut into large chunks
1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes w/ liquid
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. white sugar
1 tsp. salt

Sprinkle the sirloin strips with garlic and onion powder to taste.  In a large skillet over medium heat quickly brown the strips and transfer to the slow cooker.

Mix bullion cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch till it is dissolved, too.  Pour into the slow cooker with the meat.  Top with remaining ingredients and mix well. 

Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.  Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.  You want something to soak up the amazing sauce!  A slab of crusty bread would be nice, too.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is another great recipe I turn to time and time again.  Aside from the chicken it's made up of stuff I always have on hand in my pantry, it's super fast to throw in the slow cooker on a busy morning and is healthy and hearty at the same time.  Perfect for this time of year when we're trying to get back into our skinny jeans after two months of holiday festing, but still want satisfying comfort food.  I hope you like it as much as we do!

recipe and photo source

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken (a store-bought rotissere chicken is great!)
1 15 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 4 oz. can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 10 oz. package frozen corn
broken up tortilla chips.

*optional toppings: avocado slices, chopped cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce, whatever you like!

Simply throw everything but the chips in your slow cooker and turn her on.  Cook on low 6-8 hrs. or high 3-4 hours.  When you're ready to eat, ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla chips and any other toppings you want.  Ole!

Slow Cooked Pork & Sweet Potato Stew

This stew has all the flavors of fall and is perfect on a chilly winter evening. 

3 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 lbs. lean pork tenderloin cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 c.  white wine*
12 oz. sweet potatoes or yams peeled and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
1/2 c. chicken stock
2 T. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 T. of the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onions until they begin to turn brown.  Transfer to your slow cooker.  Add remaining oil to pan and brown the pork over high heat in 2-3 batches, adding more oil if necessary.  Transfer to slow cooker.  Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring to dislodge any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  Pour the wine over the pork.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Cook on low 7-9 hours.  Serve over a bed of rice or pasta.

*Note: Often I'll replace wine with chicken broth in recipes, but you don't want to skimp on the wine here. If you aren't a wine drinker you can get a bottle of inexpensive white wine for less than $10 and keep it in the back of your fridge. Then you'll always have it on hand for recipes. I don't recommend the "cooking wine" that you sometimes see in the store.  It tends to be salty and bitter.  I used a sweet wine because it's what I had on hand, but it doesn't really matter. Use what you've got!